The Carlton Tavern — Restaurant in London

🚇Kilburn Park 🍺 £6.40 Stiegl

Rebuild It And They Will Come.

The Carlton Tavern is located on the border between Kilburn and Maida Vale in North West London. The nearest Tube is Kilburn Park, it’s a five minute walk to get here.

The original pub on this site was built in 1864. In May 1918 a WW1 bomb hit the pub which all but destroyed it, the pub was rebuilt in 1921. During WWII the pub narrowly avoided destruction again, the pub was the only building in the area to survive the Blitz.

On the 7th April 2015, a day before the property was to be listed, the pub was demolished by developers. After a well publicised campaign by local residents the developers were forced to rebuild The Carlton Tavern brick-by-brick, the pub thankfully reopened In April 2021.

This is a sizeable two bar pub that is traditionally decorated. The bar on the right has a sturdy solid servery, plenty of seating and calming sage green walls. The bar to the left has a more cosier feel with sumptuous banquettes and welcoming wing chairs. At the back of the pub is a dining area with an impressive vaulted ceiling. There is also a long beer garden that stretches down the left hand side of the pub.

The beer choice is excellent, there is a diverse selection of local London craft, cask ales and premium continental lagers. I decided on a pint of Stiegl, my pint was excellent, love a Stiegl, price point was to be expected. There is a classic pub grub menu available which also has a varied selection of small plates. My Son and I were feeling hungry and took advantage of the 3 for £16 deal on small plates. Our food was delicious and really hit the spot.

We arrived just after 7pm on a humid early evening in mid-September. The inside of the pub was quiet as the majority of punters were sat outside in the packed beer garden. There was a friendly vibe about the place, this pub has a warm local pub feel. The service was on point, the chap who served us was welcoming and courteous.

There is plenty going on to keep you entertained. There is a Pub Quiz on Tuesdays, Live Music on Fridays and Comedy Nights too.

@thecarltontav is a plucky pub that is very much loved both locally and from further afield. This pub offers a traditional pub experience, an excellent choice of beer and food plus you’ll be well looked after. Power to the people, Pub 1 - 0 Developers.

ℹ️ Info correct on...

It was my first time to this pub. I think it has a nice atmosphere and is good for a drink but I wouldn’t eat here again. The food (fish & chips) was good and arrived quite quickly. However, the lack of space makes the pub unsuitable for dining (no self-contained area for eating, just a few tables in the middle of the pub). The acoustics were very bad too (probably because of the cramped conditions) which made it very noisy. What really upset me though, was that a “discretional” 10% service charge was added to our bill even though we had to order our food at the bar! And to add insult to injury (i) we weren’t informed in advance (ii) this “discretional” 10% was added to our bill automatically before the so-called “service” was delivered and (iii) we were charged 12.5% not 10%! It was only when I returned to my seat and wondered why two drinks (one of them non-alcoholic) had cost over £18 (!) that I queried it. Fortunately, I had an itemised, paper receipt from the till as a point of reference. The guy at the bar pointed to a tiny note at the bottom of the menu about a “discretional” 10% charge. When I pointed out that I’d in fact been charged 12.5% and that in my opinion (this is where the “discretion” comes in) they hadn’t earned 10% for service not to mind 12.5% (!) he took the 12.5% (£5.62) off my next purchase (a glass of Prosecco at £7.00) so I only paid £1.38.

I just thought the whole thing was very underhand. The so-called “service” charge is in fact a hidden charge: no one expects to pay “service” for pub grub ordered and paid for at the bar so no one would bother to look at the tiny, almost illegible note at the bottom of the menu which mentions the 10%. Moreover, this so-called “service” charge is random (10%, 12.5%, whatever).

I shall stick to Wetherspoons in future where you can get food and drink for a fraction of the price in (generally speaking) much more spacious surroundings. And, if you have the app, you can get table service free-of-charge! The Carlton Tavern’s business practice of adding a “discretional” charge to customers’ bills for “service” is at best dodgy and...

Insulted by the bar manager last night. I work hard all week, just wanted to order a drink, no bar staff for about 5 minutes. When he finally did arrive, I said I think I'm first, as I was keen not to wait more as I had already waited a long time and had a complicated order and was really tired. He said "I'll decide that" and proceeded to lecture me about how he presumed two other women standing at the bar were first but because they were chatting that maybe I could be first but its him that decides who he serves. This offensive display of "I'm in control" was attacking, he went on and on at which point I started to feel dizzy. I was gobsmacked at this lengthy diatribe in front of a growing line of customers (of many football and rugby fans). He then said it was WEIRD to ask to be served. This made me even more shocked because I thought it was normal to want to be served when you're standing at a bar. I'm not sure what line of business he thinks he's in if he thinks its weird to want to be served standing at a bar. I am a woman and to have a male bar person talk to me in this shaming and blaming way for 5 minutes in front of a group of people felt mildly threatening, definitely rude and made me go home really depressed. I felt so defeated I just walked away. Going with friends for an evening drink is supposed to be a relaxing and enjoyable experience. Not with this bar manager its not. After talking to a few people it was apparent this behaviour is typical of this bar manager. Why on earth a bar wants a bar manager talking to its customers like that. The bar lost £70 of our custom yesterday and we're all local. Having him in the bar will stop me going...